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Thursday, February 18, 2016

COMPASS BOX LAUNCHES SCOTCH WHISKY TRANSPARENCY CAMPAIGN

Compass Box, one of Scotland’s leading artisan whisky makers,
has today announced the launch of a campaign for transparency in the Scotch
whisky industry.

The multi award winning company which celebrated its 15
anniversary last year, was recently informed that it had been breaking EU
regulations governing the marketing and promotion of spirits, by communicating
information about the age of the components of its whiskies.

Compass Box launch Scotch whisky transparency campaign

Compass Box has said that it believes that Scotch producers
should be given the freedom but not the obligation to include the age of all
the components that go into their whiskies to bring them into line with the
vast majority of other industries where total transparency is not only
permitted but encouraged.

It is currently against EU regulations for a producer to
mention an age when talking about a bottle of aged spirit – whether on the
packaging or in the marketing of that product – unless there is only one age
mentioned and that age is of the youngest spirit in the bottle. This presents
just two options for Scotch whisky producers in communicating the age of their
products:

Compass Box is now campaigning for changes to the current EU
Regulations and proposes a number of amendments that includes creating a third
option for spirits producers with regard to how they communicate the age of
their products.

Commenting on the news, John Glaser, Founder and
Whiskymaker, said: “It turns out that Scotch whisky is one of the few products
where it is prohibited by law to be fully open with consumers. This is an issue
that affects every corner of the Scotch world (from Single Malt distillers to
blenders) and limits the ability of the producer to share pertinent information
with their customers.”

He went on to say: “We believe the current regulations
should change. That Scotch whisky producers should have the freedom to offer
their customers complete, unbiased and clear information on the age of every
component used in their whiskies. That those customers have the right to know
exactly what it is they’re drinking.”